


Something Is Over And Something Has Scarcely Begun

by enjolraspermittedit



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Ableism, Autism, Autistic Marius, Biphobia, Child Abuse, Depression, Disabled Character of Color, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, LGBTQ Character of Color, Marius is extremely neurodiverse, Marius-centric, Multi, Neurodiversity, Physical Abuse, Polyamory, Psychosis, Racism, Recovery, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Strong Female Characters, Suicide Attempt, Trans Characters, abusive therapy, no one in this fic is a white cishet, nonbinary characters - Freeform, not too focused on the relationships tbh it's more about Marius finding peace with himself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 11:37:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11058150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enjolraspermittedit/pseuds/enjolraspermittedit
Summary: Marius never felt safe at his home, and he never had a good relationship with his grandfather. When he finds out that his grandfather has been lying to him his whole life, he runs away and starts anew. At first, he has no idea what to do with himself, but he slowly begins to find friends and partners who accept him and his issues.





	Something Is Over And Something Has Scarcely Begun

**Author's Note:**

> warning - so, while this is not as dark as the tags make it sound, the stuff that I tagged IS kinda descriptive and might be a trigger. Also, the mentioned suicide attempt takes place when Marius is only nine, and the "abusive therapy" tag refers to ABA, meaning Marius is forced to do things such as repress his stims and give up his special interests. As both of these situations could very easily upset people, please read at your own risk. All of that happens in the beginning of the fic; so once Marius leaves his grandfather the mood of the fic actually starts to become really happy.
> 
> also, Marius's grandfather is a literal white supremacist, as well as incredibly ableist. so, like, warning for that.

When Marius Pontmercy was one year old, his parents adored him dearly. He didn’t speak much yet, he didn’t take joy in playing with other children, and he tended to make odd movements such as flapping his hands and shaking his head for no reason, but his parents saw no issue with that. They loved their son.

When Marius Pontmercy was two years old, his mother passed away. Marius’s grandfather, Monsieur Gillenormand, took Marius away from his father. Gillenormand had come to detest Marius’s father. He was disgusted with him for marrying a Black woman. To Gillenormand’s pleasure, his grandson was quite white-passing. He was determined to not tell the boy about his parents.

Skip ahead a few years. By the time Marius’s fifth birthday rolled around, Gillenormand was fed up with his behavior. He knew what his grandson’s problem was, and he refused to accept it. He could not have an autistic grandson. So he put Marius into ABA therapy, never giving much of a damn when Marius emerged from each session crying. He just wanted that burden of a child to be fixed! It seemed to work. Marius stopped the flapping and the shaking. He managed to speak a bit more. He even learned eye contact. His social skills were still…lacking, but it was a start.

When Marius was eight years old, he had not yet made one friend. The only family member he knew was his grandfather, who had never once said a kind word to him. Marius’s mother was dead, his father hated him, and the rest of his family did not reside in Paris. Marius did not believe Gillenormand’s “I love yous.” If he loved him, why did he constantly talk about how disappointed he was in him? Why did he call Marius the failure of the family? Why did he hit him?

When Marius was nine years old, he snuck out of his bedroom in the morning, when his grandfather was asleep. Marius was still friendless. His grandfather even took Pokémon, Marius’s favorite video game, away from the boy. Marius had displayed inappropriate behavior during church, rocking along to a hymn rather than singing, and then later refusing to make eye contact with the preacher that Gillenormand talked to after the sermon. As soon as grandfather and grandson had arrived back home, Gillenormand smacked Marius across the cheek and hidden his game console and cartridges, telling him that he’d only get it back when he acted appropriately. Marius knew that. This had been going on for four years. Why was Marius still like this? What was wrong with him?

Marius was never quite the quiet one, always stumbling around into something. Still, he managed to reach the front door quietly. He stepped out into the cold air and started walking to the highway. He’d seen a news report on TV about a woman who died after getting run over by a car. Marius wondered if he could die the same way. His grandfather frequently reminded him that he did not deserve to live, and besides, he didn’t want to live, nor did he deserve it. He was a waste of space - that was the term his grandfather used, right?

Marius waited on the sidewalk until he saw a large van driving up the road. He remembered having an intense interest in motor vehicles when he was six. He could no longer recall the information that he once knew so well. How stupid he was!

Marius jumped into the middle of the street at the last second, feeling an intense amount of pain. Then nothingness.

Marius woke up in the hospital, his grandfather next to him. The doctor said that Marius was lucky to be alive. Marius disagreed. He refused to tell the doctor and his grandfather why he had gotten hit. He liked the idea of them believing it was an accident. He would rather have his grandfather yell at him for being an idiot than have his grandfather know that he wanted to die.

Marius’s broken leg, fractured wrist, bruised ribs, and concussion eventually all healed.

His sadness did not.

When Marius was twelve years old, the kids at his school bullied him relentlessly, calling him a “freak” at best and a “useless creature” at worse. They all told him that he deserved to feel pain, that he deserved to suffer. They were correct. His grandfather was correct. Everyone was correct. His cousin Théodule went to the same school as him, but familial love was still nonexistent for Marius. Théodule constantly made fun of him, telling him how disgusted he was to be related to him.

He came home one day after school to find that the house was empty. His grandfather was out shopping. Marius absentmindedly wandered around the first floor of the house, trying to forget the day’s events. He noticed a knife lying on the kitchen table. He carefully picked it up, recalling the words that had been hurled at him. _You deserve to hurt. You deserve to feel pain._ Marius agreed with those statements. He placed the knife’s blade against the skin on his arm, curiously. He’d been subjected to physical punishments by his grandfather’s hand plenty of times, was there really much difference in punishing himself? He pushed down on the knife, watching blood drip from the newly formed cut. _Good,_ he thought to himself. He made a few more cuts, then he heard Gillenormand’s car pull into the driveway. He set the knife down and ran up to his room, not wanting his grandfather to know what he’d done to himself. Once he was upstairs, he grabbed a tissue from his table and pressed it against his injuries until the bleeding stopped. His sleeves didn’t quite cover up the cuts, but he figured he’d be able to make up an excuse in case somebody questioned him.

When Marius was fifteen, he thought maybe things would start looking up. He was going to start at a new school, now that he had finished up collège. Perhaps he'd get a bit more freedom. He had a lot of things wrong with him, maybe he'd get a bit better...

He was wrong. He didn't make many friends in lycée, and his grandfather continued to physically and emotionally abuse him. Marius was starting to develop even more issues as well, such as hallucinations (voices he never recognized whispering in his ear and insulting him, seeing shadow people), delusions (paranoia about his bullies trying to kill him), and panic attacks. In addition to that, his other problems seemed to get worse, his social anxiety and depression at an all-time high, and his self harm becoming more frequent. Marius, however, didn't give much of a shit about his well-being. He knew he was fucked up - really fucked up - and he wished he wasn't, but he knew that he didn't deserve recovery.

Marius was eighteen, about to finish his schooling, when he was sitting in his grandfather's office working on an essay. Until recently, that room had been off-limits, but as Marius wasn't permitted his own computer, he had to use his grandfather's. Marius started shuffling through the drawers, not to snoop, but to get some gum to chew so he could focus - he knew that his grandfather kept some in the office. As he was rummaging through the drawers, an envelope with his name on it caught his eye. It had his name, surely it was meant for him? Scared that Gillenormand would walk in on him reading the letter, Marius shoved the letter under his shirt and ducked into the bathroom. He locked the door and sat down on the floor, tearing open the envelope with shaking hands.

_My dearest Marius,_

_It is with my deepest sorrow and regret that I must tell you that I am afraid I will never get to meet you. My illness is getting worse by the day - of course it is, it’s terminal, and there is no cure. The cancer has caused me to lose my ability to move, and it makes breathing difficult and I am always tired. But I love you, my son, even if you do not love me._

_I wish you will accept my apology. Although you do not reply to my letters, I hope you read them. I hope you still have a bit of affection left for your old man. I am sorry. I am sorry._

_I love you, child, always have. Always will. I will shine down on you when I am gone. Your grandfather sees issues in you, but there is nothing wrong with you. You are good and you are normal, because a disability does not make one bad or freakish. Take pride in yourself, my sweet son, we will meet on the other side before you know it._

_Much love,  
Georges Pontmercy._

The letter was dated two weeks ago.

Marius screamed, throwing the letter to the ground. How could his grandfather keep this from him? He grabbed a hand mirror off the shelf and threw it to the ground, breaking it He couldn’t help it - he could never control these meltdowns. Sobbing, he collapsed to the floor and banged his head into the wall. His grandfather must’ve heard the commotion, because he hurried into the room. It took him one glance at Marius’s expression and the piece of paper on the floor to know what was going on.

“Marius. Were you snooping?” he asked firmly.

“You- you- you lied to me! You said my dad hated me! You said he left! But you were wrong. You stole me from him and now he’s dead and it’s your fault!”

“That man isn’t right in the head, much like you. You wanna know your mother was? She was Black. She was a filthy-”

“DON’T SAY WHAT I THINK YOU'RE ABOUT TO SAY!” Marius yelled, jumping up. Then, it registered. “Wait...what? She was...my mom was a Black woman?”

“Yes. Her great-grandparents came here from some slummy African country, I don’t know which one, they’re all the same to me. Thank God you look white, I can’t have my grandchild look disgusting and colored.”

“I’m not your grandchild,” Marius said. “Because no one would treat their family like this. I am my mother’s son, I am Black and I am damn proud of it. I’m Autistic and proud of it. I’m bisexual and proud of it. I don’t give a damn what you say to me anymore. Put me in therapy, try to fix me, call me slurs, disown me, I don’t care. I’m- I’m leaving.” He stood up shakily and started to head to his room.

“Where would you go? You don’t have any friends, nor any money.”

“I’ll find someone,” Marius said. He began to throw his clothing and books into a suitcase. He didn’t care about anything else. He ultimately ended up needing two suitcases and a bag to carry everything, but it didn’t matter. He just wanted to get out.

"Wait,” he said, turning around. “Where is my dad buried?”

“Nowhere yet, the traitor hasn’t died yet. Still in his house.”

Marius dashed back into the bathroom, glanced at the address on the envelope, and went back out to his grandfather. “I must make amends with him. But don’t think for a minute that you will ever see me again.”

And then he closed the door.

Marius took a cab to his father’s house, trying not to cry. He knocked on the door, and heard a weak voice call out, “Hello?”

“Uh- It’s me. Marius, that is. Uh, can I come in?”

“Marius! My son! You came for me. Yes, of course, wait just a second, my caretaker will open the door for you.”

The door opened a few seconds later, and Marius found a short pale woman looking at him. She was dressed in a purple shirt and white pants. She offered him a smile and lead him inside. “He’s right there on the couch.”

Marius’s dad was sick, without a doubt. He clearly didn’t have much time left. But he was here, for now. Marius rushed over to him, sobbing, unsure of what to say and how to say it at all. For a good minute all he could repeat were the same words over and over again - “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, my son. I know.”

“You know?” Marius asked, looking up at his father. They had the same eyes, the same mouth.

“You wouldn’t ignore me on purpose. Your grandfather...he was never a good man.”

“I didn’t even know about my heritage until about an hour ago. ‘Cause I’m pale enough to look white and Grandfather’s a filthy racist...I never knew about my mom...”

“You wanna see a picture of her? Ariana, fetch the family photo, please. I’m too weak to stand.”

The caretaker walked over to a shelf and picked up a photograph, then handed it to Marius. It was Marius and his parents. Marius was probably only about six months old. His father looked so different, so young. But he still had the same smile and the same twinkle in his eyes. His mother was beautiful, long dreadlocks going down to her elbows and shining brown eyes. She was pudgy (similar to Marius) and she had a large nose (exactly like Marius). She was truly gorgeous, everything about her.

“She was beautiful...” Marius whispered.

“Wasn’t she, though?” Georges said. He patted the space next to him. “But how was life with your grandfather?”

“Bad. Kept trying to fix me even though I still don’t know why I’m broken.”

“You’re not broken, son, you’re perfect. Where are you headed off to now? I saw those suitcases.”

“I don’t know. Maybe a shelter. I’ll find someone. Something.”

They spent the next few hours telling stories, Georges talking about Marius’s childhood and Marius talking about the things he was passionate about. He’d never gotten the chance to do that before.

He slept on the couch that night, after Georges insisted. Marius woke up around 10 AM the next morning. Georges did not wake up at all.

“You gave him a wonderful last day, Marius, you know he loved you a whole lot,” Ariana said.

Marius nodded. He didn’t know what to feel. So he left, there was nothing better to do.

A week later, a funeral was held. Marius went. Gillenormand did not.

Marius had been sleeping on the streets all week, and then he stumbled upon a greenhouse. He walked inside it, not really knowing what he was doing. There was a man there, with grey hair and tan skin. He was bent over, watering some flowers that Marius couldn’t identify. He stood back and jumped upon seeing the boy.

“Sorry,” Marius said. “I- I didn’t mean to trespass. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Wait, it’s okay, stay. What’s your name? I’m Mabeuf. That’s my last name, first one doesn’t matter. These plants here are my pride and joy.”

“I’m Marius. Pontmercy. Marius Pontmercy. Your plants are very nice, monsieur, I understand why you’d be proud of them.” He looked away. “Uh- I should probably be going now, sorry.”

“Right. Where do you live? I can take you back there?”

“Nowhere. I’m...I’m kinda homeless.”

“Stay. With me. Pontmercy, yeah? I knew your dad. Such a shame.”

“Oh! Really? Were you- were you at the funeral? I didn’t see you.” The truth was, Marius couldn’t remember the day at all. That type of thing happened to him sometimes, he’d just...forget things. Gillenormand used to tell him that his forgetfulness was a nuisance.

“I was. Sat in the back the whole time. Wanted to give a speech, but I’m not good at talking in front of others. I start to stutter and stumble on my words, if I can get anything out at all.”

“Yeah, me too,” Marius said. “So you’ll let me stay with you?”

“Of course,” Mabeuf said. “Of course. I have an apartment not too far away. You can stay with me, free of charge, I’m wealthy enough.”

“No,” Marius said. “I’ll get a job, I’ve been needing one anyway.”

Marius ended up going to law school, wanting to be a lawyer. At the same time, he earned money by translating articles online and in newspapers. He knew French, English, and German, as well as French Sign Language.

Marius was happy with Mabeuf, and then one day when he was out shopping he stumbled into a tall Mexican man with messy brown hair and a beautiful smile. He appeared to be about Marius’s age.

“You need help with anything?” the man asked.

“If it’s not a bother. I’m just trying to get some groceries for my friend...I need milk, apples, and pretzels, bit of a messy list he left me.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll help you. Have you been to this store before, uh...?” the man stopped talking when he realized he didn’t know Marius. “What’s your name? I’m Emile, but most people just know me by my last name. Courfeyrac.”

“I’m Marius, and most people just know me by my first name, but my last name is Pontmercy.”

Courfeyrac laughed. “You’re cute. Would you like to go out sometime?”

Marius froze in place, unsure of how to reply. Was someone seriously asking him out? On a date? Oh God, Marius didn’t know what to do about that. Courfeyrac was adorable and Marius was flattered, but he didn’t know if he was good romantic material at all-

“Yes,” Marius said, before he could second-guess himself. “I’ve never been on a date before though, and I’m very awkward, just as a warning.”

“More than fine by me,” Courfeyrac said. “So, when are you free?”

“Mostly just on weekends. Throughout the week I’m super busy with schooling and stuff. Maybe this Saturday? I can give you my phone number and we can text each other about the details.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Courfeyrac grinned at Marius, and Marius returned the smile.

The two decided to go out to dinner and then see a show. Marius was nervous beforehand, he wasn’t going to lie - what if he did something weird and scared Courfeyrac away? What if Courfeyrac changed his mind and decided that he actually hated Marius? What if hated him all along and he was only pretending to like him to humiliate him?

_No,_ the logical part of Marius’s brain said. _Courfeyrac is an amazing, friendly, honest guy. He would never do that._

As he’d done hundreds of times before, Marius begun to ask himself what the hell was wrong with him.

Had he asked Courfeyrac that question, he would’ve received a simple response: _Absolutely nothing is wrong with you, my darling._ Courfeyrac clearly had an interest in Marius, and he wasn’t afraid to show it. He let Marius talk about himself and his interests, and he never once appeared to be annoyed.

Marius, never good at talking about himself, asked Courfeyrac about his own life. He found out that Courfeyrac belonged to a social justice group called Les Amis de l’ABC.

“We meet the Café Musain. I’m sure you’d be more than welcome to come to one of the meetings,” he offered.

So Marius did.

He was nervous, and he was the last person to get there - but nobody seemed to mind or even bring attention to it. Courfeyrac went around and individually introduced Marius to the other eight members of the group - there was Enjolras, the leader, a short Black man with a blonde afro. He was wearing a shirt with a rainbow infinity symbol on it, and the shirt had the words “I Love Someone Who Is Autistic - It’s Me” printed in capital letters across the front. Marius only hoped he could love himself that much one day.

Combeferre, along with Enjolras, was Courfeyrac’s best friend. Combeferre was referred to as “the guide.” They seemed very sweet, and they were dressed in a tie. Their skin tone was the same as Enjolras’s, and they had the same eye color, but they were shorter and they had darker hair. They were completely nonverbal, and they communicated through sign language, texting, and writing. 

Jehan Prouvaire dressed eccentrically, wearing a loud multicolor one piece outfit. She was a trans woman, she had signed to Marius. Occasionally she would withdraw into her own world, tuning out the meeting. Her friends did not seem at all bothered by this, only trying to get her attention if it was absolutely necessary, which they would do by lightly tapping her braids. Jehan didn’t like being touched anywhere else, and because she was Deaf, she obviously wouldn’t be able to hear anyone calling to her.

Feuilly wore rags, and seemed a bit ashamed by this at first, but Marius told him it was nothing to worry about, no shame in poverty. Marius was a bit surprised when Feuilly immediately shared his hardships with Marius - his parents died when he was little, he was homeless, and he barely had any money for food, water, or clothes. He couldn’t afford his antidepressants anymore, and he could never afford testosterone at any point in his life. Marius offered to help him in some way, but Feuilly waved away his offer. “Enjolras said he promised to help me as soon as he can convince his parents to give him his inherited money,” he said. “He was supposed to get it when he turned eighteen, but then they pushed it up to twenty-two. That’s five months...I’ll be fine. It’s hard being a trans and mentally ill poor Black immigrant, but I’ll be fine. I have support.”

Bahorel was a Middle-Eastern man with a booming voice and always a pun or two up his sleeve. He was involved in multiple revolutionary groups, but Les Amis had always been his favorite - had been his sanctuary after his parents had kicked him out for being bi. Marius told Bahorel that he wasn’t alone, he knew all about unsupportive guardians, to which Bahorel gave him a sympathetic smile and pat on the shoulder in response.

Grantaire, or R, was the man who had wheeled Bahorel into the meeting. He was a cynical and sociable Indian man with messy hair, deep brown eyes, and scars on his arms that were not at all unlike Marius’s. He laughed and joked around a lot, but Marius could see the pain in his eyes - Marius was no stranger to hiding his true emotions, and he never failed to notice when other people did it. Grantaire, despite his low self-esteem, was clearly a person of many talents - fencing and dancing, to name just a couple.

Grantaire’s best friends were called Joly and Bossuet. Joly was a blind Polynesian man who flapped his hands just like Marius did. According to Courfeyrac, he was always there to cheer people up when they needed it. His boyfriend, Bossuet, was incredibly unlucky, but he didn’t let that stop him. He hadn’t always felt welcome in France - he had gotten bullied pretty badly after moving from China - but now he had multiple friends and was overall an optimistic person.

“Bossuet and Joly have a girlfriend, Musichetta. She doesn’t come here much, but she’s a lovely person. I’d assume she’s at the mosque with Cosette right now,” Courfeyrac explained, gesturing for Marius to take a seat.

“Who’s Cosette?” Marius asked.

“Cosette Fauchelevent, a friend of ours. She doesn’t come to the meetings either, but she’s a lovely person, falling in love with everything she sees. She’s a huge advocate for prisoner’s rights, along with her father.”

Marius spent most of the meeting just observing, looking at the members of Les Amis de l’ABC and the room that they were in. He wasn’t sure how he felt about attending the group meetings and becoming a member, but he definitely felt safe with these people. Not as safe as he felt around just Courfeyrac or Mabeuf, but safe. They all seemed so accepting and welcoming, and they didn’t even bat an eyelash at Marius’s awkward habits and clumsiness. 

Courfeyrac took Marius back to his apartment that night, and they had dinner together. When Marius rolled up his sleeve to wash his hands, Courfeyrac caught sight of his scars, and Marius realized that this was the first time anyone had seen them (although Mabeuf knew about his struggles). Marius expected the worst possible reaction, but Courfeyrac simply stepped closer to him and kissed him softly. 

“I don’t know why the good people always suffer the most,” he whispered, “but know that I’m here for you, always.”

Marius remained strong for the rest of the meal, but cried on his way home. From what, he didn't know, but it certainly didn't feel like sadness, oddly enough.

A few days later, Marius was out for a walk in the Luxembourg Gardens with Courfeyrac, when they ran into two girls.

“Hey look, it’s Cosette and Éponine!” Courfeyrac said. 

“Oh yeah,” Marius said, “you told me about Cosette.” He looked at the girls. “I’m, uh, I’m Marius.”

“I know!” the girl on the left said. She was super tall, with pink nail polish, brown skin, and a dark purple hijab. “I’m Cosette! Courfeyrac told me about you, you’re the hot boyfriend.”

“Uh- yeah, I guess-” Marius said.

“This is my girlfriend, Éponine Thénardier,” Cosette explained, gesturing to the smaller Black girl next to her. She had short hair and she was wearing a flannel shirt. Marius noticed two pins on the shirt - the lesbian flag and the trans flag.

“Would you like to all walk together?” Éponine asked.

Marius slowly nodded, and Courfeyrac and Cosette followed suit. Courf and Marius told the story of how they met, and the story of the Les Amis meeting, which made Éponine smile. “My brother Gavroche really looks up to that group,” she said. “Especially Grantaire. R was the first person that Gavroche came out as trans to, told him even before he told me and Zelma.”

“Who’s Zelma?” Marius asked, racking his brain. He couldn’t remember anyone of that name being mentioned.

“My sibling. Ze’s the middle child, me being the oldest and Gav being the youngest. Our parents kicked all of us out, so we take care of ourselves on our own. They weren’t too happy about having three trans kids, you see.”

“I’m sorry,” Marius said. “But if it makes you feel any better, I know what it’s like to not be accepted. My grandfather isn’t the best person, but it’s okay, I live with someone named Monsieur Mabeuf now.”

“Oh, the plant man!” Éponine said with a laugh. “Yeah, he’s actually pretty popular in our community. He helped Zelma with one of hir plant projects once, for science class or something. And he’s always giving Jehan cacti and flowers.”

“I believe it,” Marius said. “I literally met him in a greenhouse!”

The four of them had to separate not long after that, but they promised to all meet up again sometime. Marius knew it was wrong, due to his relationship with Courf, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t have a bit of a crush on Cosette.

He couldn’t keep it a secret forever, he had to tell Courf that he liked Cosette. So one day, when he was over at Courfeyrac’s apartment and they were cuddling on the couch, he cleared his throat and spoke up. He knew what he was gonna say, he had it all mapped out in his head.

“So. Emile de Courfeyrac, you are possibly the best thing that ever happened to me and I would never want to leave you. Which is why I must confess something to you. I am in love with Cosette Fauchelevent. I would not dream of leaving you, and besides, she has Ép anyway, but I felt unfaithful to not let you know-”

“Marius,” Courfeyrac cut him off with a laugh. “First of all, I know you like her. You and Éponine stare at her the exact same way, I’ve noticed that when we’re all together. Don’t feel bad, I can see why you adore her. Second of all...you can date both of us.”

“Wait, really? How would that work, though?”

“Just by being with both of us,” Courfeyrac shrugged. “it’s not complicated at all, it’s called polyamory - Joly, Bossuet, and Musichetta are all together, remember?”

The truth was, Marius had somehow managed to forget, but he nodded anyway.

Marius caught Cosette alone in the Luxembourg gardens the next evening - she always went there after Maghrib. She was alone this time; Éponine busy with Azelma and Gavroche.

The two made small talk for awhile, and then Marius decided to get to the point.

“So...I love Courf, you love Éponine, yeah?”

“Yes...?” Cosette said, unsure as to where he was going with this.

“But uh, would you be interested in dating someone else? Because I would be.”

“Oh, you mean like a polyamorous thing?” Cosette asked. “Well, it depends on who was asking, but in general? Yes.”

“What if it was me who was asking?” Marius asked.

“I’d love that,” Cosette said. She pressed a soft kiss to Marius’s forehead. “I’ll just have to run it by Éponine real quick, but I’m sure she’ll be fine with it, she told me that she considers you to be a great friend.”

About a month later, Marius found himself sitting on the floor in Courfeyrac’s apartment, in between Courfeyrac and Cosette. Éponine had her head on Cosette’s shoulder. The four of them were watching Star Wars, one of Marius’s more recent special interests - apparently the other three were extremely enthusiastic as well, so they’d decided to marathon the movies. It was amazing, having his interests not only be accepted but encouraged.

Marius Pontmercy was slowly but surely beginning to feel more confident in himself and more happy about life. He still had his issues, of course, and he still had his bad days, but the sun was beginning to rise in his life. Maybe, just maybe, with the help of this around him, he would end up okay.


End file.
